The Evolution of Draco
by Alice Brennan
Summary: Something happens when Hermione punches Draco.


**A/N: Written for the Houses Competition, Slytherin, Year 4, Standard, Prompt: Golden Era, Word count: 1011**

"You foul, loathsome, filthy little cockroach!" Hermione yelled as she flew towards him. She lunged and before Draco could react, her fist collided with his nose. Draco saw stars. His nose was bleeding and there was suddenly a halo over Hermione's head.

"Run!" He yelled at Crabbe and Goyle. He took off for the castle without waiting to see whether they would follow. They always did, but this time he didn't care. He was suddenly seeing Hermione in a new light, and it terrified him.

A few days later, Draco found himself aimlessly wandering around the castle. He had a free period and he hadn't been sleeping well since he'd seen Hermione with the halo over her head. In that moment she had been wild and beautiful. Draco couldn't help but feel disgusted with himself. He was torn between avoiding her and wanting to see her again. It wasn't like him. He was a pureblood and proud of it. He wasn't raised to fall for the whims of mudbloods. He was certain the halo was a trick of the light that happened when she had punched him, but he couldn't help but see it every time he closed his eyes.

Suddenly, Draco realized he had wandered all the way to the library. He froze just outside the door. It was almost dinner time. If he was smart he would go find Crabbe and Goyle and head to the great hall, but there was that tugging sensation in the pit of his stomach, pulling him towards the library. That was where Hermione spent most of her free time, when she wasn't letting Potter and Weasley get her into trouble. He wondered if she was in there now, leaning over some book. Draco could just imagine the way her mess of golden brown hair would look falling around her face as she concentrated on some magical subject or another. He wondered if she would look just as beautiful leaning over her boyfriend.

Draco shook himself and anger flooded through him. What was he thinking? They must have cast some sort of spell on him to make him attracted to the little mudblood. Draco stormed into the library and took a good look around, striding past bookshelf after bookshelf. He bet they were having a good laugh at him right now, seeing him all flustered and angry. How dare they make a fool of him!

Finally Draco found Hermione between two of the bookshelves, searching for who knows what other spell to cast on him. Draco grabbed her wrists and shoved her back against of of the shelves. Her wide, beautiful brown eyes met his.

"What did you do to me?" Draco demanded.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Hermione objected, struggling to free her wrists. "Let me go!"

"Not until you give me the antidote!" Draco insisted, slamming her wrists back against the books. She was stronger than she looked, but not as strong as him.

"The antidote for what?" Hermione asked, forcing herself to calm down and attempt to reason with him. "Draco, if you needed help, all you had to do was ask. You don't need to do this."

Suddenly, Draco couldn't help himself anymore. He captured Hermione's mouth with his in a fiery kiss. At first, Hermione froze, but as his grip on her wrists loosened, she began to kiss him back. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders. Then, just as suddenly, the moment ended and Draco shoved her away from him. A horrified look came over his face. "Don't you ever tell anyone about this!" He snarled at her before storming off, leaving Hermione with a flushed look of shock on her face.

The second time Draco found Hermione was different. Draco approached her with a calm, clear mind. Although he was no longer seeing halos every time he closed his eyes, his experience with her left him with more of a driving curiosity than any sort of hatred or resentment. His father had always told him that muggleborns were filthy and beneath them, that they didn't deserve their power, and might have even stolen it. Hermione was none of those things, though she did have a poor taste in friends, and he wouldn't have put it past her to just have magical abilities from studying so much. She was back to studying in the library when he sought her out again.

Her eyes widened when she saw him, and he could see her body tense up, as though her instincts told her to stay away from him. Considering who his family was, her instincts were probably wise. He couldn't help himself, though. This was not the Hermione he'd met on his first day at Hogwarts, or even during their first year. It was clear that she had grown into something else entirely. Someone brave enough to stand up for herself and her friends, and Draco was dying to know more about who he was dealing with. Even if that meant going against his father's beliefs and dating a muggleborn.

"I come in peace," Draco smirked, holding his hands up so that she could see he wasn't holding his wand.

"Since when?" Hermione retorted. She watched in surprise as Draco laughed and took the seat opposite her.

"Since I realized you and your useless friends didn't slip me a love potion," he answered.

Hermione rolled her eyes, "Draco, if I slipped you a love potion, you would still be swooning over me."

"I still am," Draco answered, becoming serious now. When Hermione didn't answer, he pushed forward. "There's something about the way you stood up to me that I respect, Granger. I want to know more about you. Would you like to go to the Three Broomsticks with me sometime?"

Hermione hesitated. On one hand, this was Draco, the boy who had bullied her and her friends for three years. On the other hand, this could be an opportunity to educate him in a way his parents never would. Hermione couldn't help herself. "I'd be happy to."


End file.
